0.0000001% Demon King - 0DK Chapter 38: The Holy Land (4) (Part 1)

“…”

Sinclair’s face changed. She uttered a denial with a twisted expression.

“It can’t possibly be…!”

“You’ll know once you see for yourself.”

Karos gestured with his hand.

“Come in.”

Sinclair hesitated for a moment but then moved forward with a hardened face.

“It’s not a pretty sight.”

Entering the village, Karos looked around. Trash and filth were scattered everywhere, and the houses were dilapidated, on the verge of collapse, worse than any slum.

A look of sorrow gradually spread across Sinclair’s face. As they moved down an alleyway, a child stumbled and fell in front of Sinclair.

“Are, are you alright?”

“Ah, ah…”

The child looked up at Sinclair dully, dazzled by her golden hair.

“An angel?”

“…No, I’m not.”

“Is that… so. My apologies.”

The child struggled to stand up, swaying as if about to fall again. Sinclair, concerned, asked,

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m alive thanks to the Sun God, so I should be grateful for that alone.”

Sinclair’s worried expression froze. She asked with a trembling voice,

“The Sun God…?”

“Yes. We all live thanks to the Sun God. It’s the same for my sisters and brothers.”

“I have a question, child.”

Karos gently grabbed the child’s shoulder with a kind face.

“Who is your master?”

“The Sun God. He saved us all, a great being who personally created the Holy Land for us in this despairing world. All my value lies with Him.”

The child spoke calmly, with a madness that even Sinclair, who grew up in the Holy Land and saw many zealots, flinched at.

“Is that so?”

Karos did not lose his smile as he took his hand off the child’s shoulder.

“Take care then.”

“Yes. Have a good day, brothers.”

The child disappeared into the alleyway, staggering.

“Let’s keep going.”

“…”

They moved deeper into the village, toward a noisy area. Hundreds of people, appearing to be villagers, had gathered there.

All of them were ragged, with emaciated faces. Among them, a man in luxurious clothes and a corpulent figure stood out.

Sinclair murmured with a vacant face,

“Balthra.”

“You know him?”

“He lived in the Holy Land. I’ve met him a few times.”

Balthra yelled with a book in hand.

“Who should we believe in, everyone!”

“The Sun God!”

The villagers shouted in unison. Balthra nodded vigorously.

“Correct! The earth has been corrupted! It has forsaken the faith and belief in God. The Sun God was patient, but our realm did not recognize His patience! Eventually, God decided to purify the earth Himself, sending His messenger to return this world to its primal state!”

He trembled uncontrollably with passion.

“But He bestowed mercy on us, the lowly ones! Here, in this Holy Land!”

“Oooh!”

The villagers cried out. Some couldn’t hold back their emotions and fell to their knees, weeping.

“Yes! You are the only survivors of this world, the inheritors of God’s will! What should you do then? Offer faith to God!”

Balthra shouted, spitting with fervor.

“We believe in You. We must show our faith to God! Only then can we survive! So, what you need to do is!”

“Show faith to God!”

“To the great Sun God, offer faith!”

Madness surged like waves. Some shook or beat the ground, losing their senses.

Sinclair watched it all silently.

*** ***

After the wave of madness passed, the villagers dispersed. Balthra, too, started to leave with a satisfied look. Only two remained in the square.

“This is the true face of the Sun God, Miss Sinclair.”

“…”

Sinclair, without responding, touched the blood soaked into the ground. Excited by Balthra’s sermon, a man punched the ground until his fist broke. Despite the evident pain, the man was smiling.

“We only found out about this relatively recently ourselves.”

The Sun God’s power is undeniably great. Though there are many zealots, their numbers don’t make a significant difference. However, the Sun God’s strength surpasses all.

Doubting this fact, a Demon King delved into it. At the expense of his own forces, he discovered the existence of the Sun God’s “farms.”

“We tried to spread the word, but no one would believe the demons. And the muscle-brained Demon Kings wouldn’t bother with such schemes, so it remained buried.”

Karos picked up a piece of paper from the ground. It was a propaganda leaflet, filled with praises for the Sun God.

“For a god, zealots become power. The rest, you can guess, right?”

The land where the god descended, is protected by all sorts of barriers and kept inaccessible. It’s convenient for immediate response, being next to the Holy Land.

And it’s used for breeding. Isolated from the outside world, this place becomes a farm, producing zealots to the taste of the Church. There might have been a few who tried to escape, but their stories were too predictable.

“Even manufactured faith becomes a power for a god. It’s not a proper belief system, though.”

Hyung_Otaku

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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